


It's Simple Curiosity (I Swear)

by mxearthling



Series: How Wolves Make Waves [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: (Not pictured) Sakumo being a flirt, AU, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gen, Jiraiya being a nosy pain in the ass, M/M, Oro being bad at feelings, Past One-Sided Crush, Pre-Relationship, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-19
Updated: 2016-08-19
Packaged: 2018-08-09 19:37:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7814506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mxearthling/pseuds/mxearthling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Orochimaru sulks over one Hatake Sakumo.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's Simple Curiosity (I Swear)

"Oro."

Orochimaru nestles further into his cavern of blankets, black-haired head peeking out from the fabric. He looks like some sort of silky turnip sprouting from the ground - if the ground were purple. 

Jiraiya decides that he isn't very good at similies and abandons that train of thought.

" _Orochi_ ," he tries again, hands on his hips and leaning forward slightly, white ponytail spilling over his shoulder and nearly brushing those (gaudy, in his opinion, though he supposes he isn't one to talk) purple covers. 

"Will you recognize that your presence is _unwanted_ or will you continue to stand there and spout shortened variations of my name?" Orochimaru snaps, voice faintly muffled.

"It's your own fault for giving me a key to your apartment," Jiraiya says, idly wondering whether this sullen mood can be attributed to what happened the day before.

Orochimaru seems to decide Jiraiya's reply isn't worthy of a response and says nothing, only shifting under his covers before stilling once more, seemingly content to brood within his nest. _He really is a snake_ , Jiraiya thinks with both a touch of amusement and concern. 

Snakes typically hide from view whenever they feel as though they're in danger, after all.

"I guess I'll just raid your kitchen cabinets, then. I'm sure you don't mind," Jiraiya decides, tone faux-innocent.

There's an indignant huff in response to that, but Orochimaru doesn't protest so Jiraiya counts it as a win. 

He turns away from his friend's curled up form and exits the bedroom, bare feet padding lightly against the worn wood floors as he heads for his destination.

Orochimaru's kitchen isn't what you would call spotless, but it's most certainly clean. 'Cluttered' is likely what you would call it. He accumulates seemingly random items and hoards them until they lose his interest. Jiraiya is used to this, so he doesn't bat an eye when he sees a small tank full of live grasshoppers sitting on the counter beside what looks suspiciously like a grill lighter. (Okay, so maybe he _does_ bat an eye, but can you blame him? _Grasshoppers_.)

Jiraiya ignores the grasshoppers for now and opens up one of the high cabinets, picking out a box of tea. There's already a cold pot on the stove top, but Jiraiya's not going to risk drinking something he hasn't actually seen Orochimaru make.

(He trusts Orochimaru with his life. He does. It's just that, well. _It's Orochimaru_.)

So he makes tea, hoping the aroma of a fresh pot will lighten his friend's mood and get him talking. Jiraiya's got experience with Orochimaru's slumps, and they're never pretty. They're not _too_ horrible, though. 

He mainly just stays coiled up in some corner (in this case, his bed), shooting barbs at anyone who bothers him and forgetting to eat... which is often how he is when he _isn't_ in a slump so, uh.

It's the _moping_ that makes it different, Jiraiya decides as he flicks the fire of the stove on. Orochimaru is often one to take matters into his own hands, to _fix_ things rather than wallow. What's different when he falls into one of these particular states is how he'll remain curled up in his bed or on his couch or floor until the mood subsides and he returns to the land of the living.

Truthfully, Jiraiya can't even see why Orochimaru is moping. Sure, he knows what likely caused this, but Orochimaru hasn't felt the need to camp out in a corner and hiss at anyone who comes near him over something like this in years.

Tsunade, unlike Jiraiya, has no patience for these slumps and will try to bodily drag Orochimaru to his feet and out into the sun, which usually results in a catfight, which Tsunade always wins. While Orochimaru can be vicious and scrappy in a fight, Jiraiya knows he'd never actually try to hurt Tsunade; not because he feels she might actually get injured - quite the opposite, in fact - but because she's his friend. Orochimaru may be a right bastard sometimes and occasionally unhinged, but he is nothing if not loyal.

So Jiraiya makes tea because he is not Tsunade and knows that manhandling his friend outside will result in a worse mood and even more horrid revenge.

He's humming to himself and leaning back against the kitchen table when he hears soft shuffling and moves his gaze to the door, catching sight of Orochimaru with that same blanket he'd been nestled in wrapped around himself, only uncovered from the collar bones and up. He's sans eye makeup, earrings swaying as he tilts his head, their silver glinting in the light shining through the nearby window.

"What kind of tea are you making?" he demands to know, narrowing his eyes at Jiraiya.

"Sencha," Jiraiya replies, flicking his ponytail over his shoulder.

As if on cue, the pot whistles.

"Of _all_ the kinds available, you choose the most pedestrian. As to be expected."

Orochimaru sniffs and plucks up the box of tea from the counter, opening the cupboard and returning it to it's proper place before grabbing a new one entirely. Jiraiya snorts, only half-offended at the obvious insult to his taste in tea. He wisely does not mention that it's _Orochimaru's_ and not his own.

"Whatever, teme," he says, the smile on his face so obviously saying he isn't as annoyed as his words would imply, before straightening up and taking a few steps to the right, opening up Orochimaru's refrigerator.

"Let me guess: you forgot to do your own grocery shopping?" Orochimaru raises an eyebrow and sends Jiraiya a disdainful glance as he goes about making their tea. 

"Yup!"

"You're such a child," he replies as he distributes the tea into two cups.

"Heh, children can't partake in the activities that I do," Jiraiya points out, closing the refrigerator.

Orochimaru stares at him flatly.

"Don't give me that look."

This time, it's Orochimaru's turn to roll _his_ eyes - and yet he still hands over a cup of steaming tea to Jiraiya, arm peeking out from that bundle of covers around his body. Jiraiya takes it with a grateful nod, and they both sit at the kitchen table.

They share a companionable silence for all of a single minute - on Jiraiya's end, anyway. Orochimaru seems to be glaring at the table as he takes sips from his mug as if it's personally offended him in some way.

He comes out with it: "So... is this about yester-"

" _No_ ," the other hisses, glare now directed at Jiraiya rather than the table.

But Jiraiya knows. Jiraiya _sees_.

"Look, I know Sakumo stepped on a nerve, but-"

" _Jiraiya_ -"

"You have to admit, you _used to be_ a pretty lady."

Orochimaru looks at him if he's seriously contemplating throwing his tea in Jiraiya's face, but Jiraiya stays right where he is and grins at his friend. 

Really, he understands why Orochimaru is offended, but they all run in the same circles and Sakumo's known as being a little flirtatious. Even though Sakumo mistook him for a woman, Jiraiya's sure this wasn't Orochimaru's first encounter with the man - yet he's still so worked up over a compliment. A compliment that, honestly, Orochimaru stopped being offended by once he finished transitioning.

 _Maybe he had already been on the verge of a foul mood and Sakumo's comment just pushed him over the edge?_ Jiraiya thinks.

"Get out once you've finished your tea," Orochimaru says curtly, wearing what Jiraiya inwardly has dubbed his 'sulking face' as he stands, taking his tea and trailing blankets after himself as he goes to leave the room.

Jiraiya decides not to argue and lets Orochimaru have his pout fest, saluting and replying with a blithe, "Roger that, Oro."

His friend scowls at him before disappearing, likely going back to the burrow he's built in his bedroom.

Jiraiya chuckles to himself and, with a shake of his head, goes to down the rest of his tea.  


-

  
Orochimaru doesn't want to admit that he's sulking, but... Well, he _is_.

Contrary to what Jiraiya seems to believe, he isn't offended by Sakumo mistaking him for a woman and flirting with him; the look on Sakumo's face when Orochimaru had told him he wasn't a woman had been quite entertaining, actually. 

No, Orochimaru was sulking over the fact that he _liked_ the attention.

He's never had the time for romantic entanglements or any interest in pursuing them. Even when he had found himself harboring a crush on Jiraiya during their youth, he had ignored his feelings and been glad when they subsided. His newfound fascination with Sakumo is almost ironic: he and Jiraiya share a resemblence both in appearance and personality, and the similarities are enough to make Orochimaru's interest questionable. 

The hair, though a different shade, was the most damning giveaway.

Orochimaru burrows further into his den of blankets, despairing.

He _has_ noticed Sakumo from a distance before this most recent encounter, of course. Orochimaru would call anyone who claimed not to a liar. Sakumo posesses an intense handsomeness, expressive eyes, and deep smile lines. He's magnetic - all loud laughter, teeth that look suspiciously like canines, and extraordinary warmth. 

He isn't a gratuitous flirt ( _pervert_ , Orochimaru prefers to say) like Jiraiya, seeming to prefer genuine romance to unattached sexual encounters, which only serves to make Sakumo stand out all the more. In this day and age of pick-up culture, it's difficult to come across a man with sincere and, dare Orochimaru say, _endearing_ intentions. 

He's a family man. He laughs loudly, smiles genuinely, offers to take you out for coffee and a walk through the nearest dog park, and gives his acquaintances goofy nicknames.

It's _disgusting_.

Maybe that's why Orochimaru is so fascinated by him. 

Why would Sakumo possibly wish to approach him? After all, men like Sakumo do not go after men like Orochimaru, just as fuzzy, cute mammals do not mate with reptiles. 

If he had no knowledge of Orochimaru's personality, just as he had no knowledge of his gender, then could it have been his looks? Skin the color of bone, sharp cheekbones, and too-observant eyes... No, Orochimaru was not to most people's taste. Frankly, most were quite perturbed with his appearance. 

Sakumo doesn't seem to be, and it's _odd_ , and Orochimaru wants to know _why_.

 _"You're a man,"_ Sakumo had said when Orochimaru corrected him, blinking at him in surprise. Orochimaru had expected him to shuffle off in embarrassment, or possibly feel the need to defend his straightness, but no. He had only said, _"I still say you're rather pretty! Here."_ And he had pressed a scrap of paper with a phone number scrawled across it into Orochimaru's hand before giving him a warm smile and wandering off.

He sticks his head out from his nest, blinking at the little piece of paper on his nightstand. 

Sakumo's number...

Perhaps he'll call him after all - just to satisfy his curisosity, of course. 

Yes, that's all it is. Curiosity.

**Author's Note:**

> *puts head in hands* okay, so, a few things -
> 
> this was written because
> 
> a) i'm now addicted to this ship thanks to [**blackkat**](http://archiveofourown.org/users/blackkat/pseuds/blackkat) / [**blackkatmagic**](http://blackkatmagic.tumblr.com) and her [**wonderful oro/sakumo fic**](http://archiveofourown.org/works/2348309/chapters/5179199)  
>  and  
> b) to practice my writing
> 
> if anything is confusing or rushed, blame b. i'm pretty mediocre and mostly do this for fun, but i want to get better. i've finally just decided to wash my hands of this (even though i am planning a sequel even as i type this) and post it, flaws be damned.
> 
> (to clarify, just in case: orochimaru and sakumo are acquaintances and sakumo is not aware orochimaru is trans. also, i love jiraiya, but it's sometimes difficult for cis people to see why something like misgendering can cause a lot of negative feelings to well up even when someone 'passes' really well and has 'finished' transitioning. he's not a jerk, just ignorant - and it's funny, because orochimaru ISN'T upset at being mistaken for a woman. he's upset that he was actually like 'hot damn this is my jam' in response to sakumo's flirting.)
> 
> reviews and kudos are love, and hopefully the sequel won't take too long and will have ACTUAL sakumo/oro interaction~ 
> 
> thanks for reading! come scream at me on [tumblr](http://mxearthling.tumblr.com) about this amazing, ridiculous ship


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